Be bold, be brave, and follow your heart. That’s the advice Beth Jones would give to a young woman starting a business today. In 1991, when Jones founded her award-winning graphic design firm, B. Jones & Co., in Poughkeepsie, graphic design was still a male-dominated field. Yet her firm became known for providing exceptional customer service with a uniquely female aesthetic.
A subsequent stint at the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, followed by seven years at a boutique investment firm, led the Wappingers Falls native to “realize that Wall Street firms were all the same; they were focused on the money only and not the person. I was in the business to help people.”
And so, in 2005, she and partner Susan Simon created Third Eye Associates, Ltd. (TEA), which offers a holistic approach to financial life planning, transition planning, and wealth management. “We build financial plans around the client instead of around the money.”
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career?
“Pay attention to your money. I wish someone had said that to me when I was a very young businessperson. I needed to know that money isn’t really scary.”
TEA currently only employs women and works primarily with women, small business owners, and LGBT families. The Red Hook-based company also has offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., and revenue has grown tenfold since that first year.
Jones, who began her post-high school education at Dutchess Community College, is a Certified Financial Transitionist, a Registered Life Planner, and most recently completed the Accredited Investment Fiduciary curriculum through the Center for Fiduciary Studies, associated with the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.
She is a former board member of Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders (SAGE) in New York City; the Dutchess County Democratic Committee; and the Red Hook Economic Development Committee. She currently serves as Treasurer of Historic Red Hook.
